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May 22, 2009

It's not creative if it doesn't sell. In 60 Seconds.

There's a really odd contradiction within the world of advertising. On the one hand, the act of developing an advertisement is often called "creative", as in "creative department", and "the creative team".

The word creative is bantered about without, in the end, a whole lot of thought. Yet the word isn't actually meant to be taken literally. We're not "creative" in the art sense - that we're doing something for the sake of personal expression.

The distinction can be illustrated by considering the famous artist Mary Cassatt, whose birthday I know is today thanks to today's artpiece on Google's home search page. Cassatt created prints that expressed something inside her. She wasn't trying to match her capabilities to customer needs, be memorable, credible, trustworthy or relevant.

But good advertising has to be all of those things. And sell. (And if it's radio advertising it has to do all of that in sixty seconds, with auditory stimuli only. And one hand tied behind our back.)

But a huge contingent in the advertising world doesn't get this distinction.

The finalists for the 2009 Radio Mercury Awards were recently announced. Perusing this list of radio commercials underscores my original point: there is a huge contradiction in the world of advertising. These radio commercials are (for the most part) very creative. Most are relevant, too. Even trustworthy. A few of the ads are credible and memorable.

But how many of them sell? (clarification: sell the clients' product or service, not the agency's)

Any? Nope.

The "sell" criterion is the hardest one to get right.

Yet these agencies are being rewarded with awards, attention, accolades and money. They'll use all of this to promote the expertise of their agencies. To sell themselves, not their clients' products. To build their own brand, not their clients' brand.

The word "creative" in the context of advertising is meant to depict the act of creating, as in "making", "developing". Developing what? Developing a piece of persuasive media. We should call it the Persuasive Department, not the Creative Department. Persuasives, not Creatives. "Hello, this is Brett with the Persuasive Team at Strategic Media." Has a nice ring to it.

The biggest blessing of being in direct response radio advertising is this: We know what sells.

It's just that sometimes knowing too much is painful.

Posted by Jeff Small & Brett Astor at 08:15 AM | Permalink